ΡΕΠΟΡΤΑΖ: Damian Mac Con Uladh
Δημοσιεύθηκε στην εφημερίδα Athens News στις 3 Ιουλίου 2009

ALEXANDROS Foteinos is clear: he's not against smokers, but smoking.

"Both smokers and non-smokers are victims of an industry that devours lives and money," Foteinos says.

His concern for society as a whole leads him to dismiss the new law as a "fake".

"We've a long way to go before we solve the smoking problem in Greece," the singer and songwriter says. "We wanted to support the state in its efforts, but we've withdrawn this support because we feel 100 percent cheated."

The major failing of the new legislation is that it tries to satisfy too many people at once, he says, while the ministerial decision based on it is vague.

He calls for an all-out ban, but stresses that this can only succeed in Greece after a long, focussed antismoking campaign.

"This is the only way to change people's attitudes."

A former smoker who only managed to kick the habit on his fifth attempt, he founded Nosmoke.gr three years ago after becoming frustrated with the pervasiveness of smoking in Greece.

Informal in terms of administrative structure, the group has grown considerably and has thousands of supporters on Facebook and MySpace.

"This is a matter of life and death," Foteinos says. "We are not going to continue inhaling poison and will press ahead to get the right thing done."

On the net: www.nosmoke.gr